Don’t forget that after the Friday Night runout at BlobFest, there is the Blob Ball – a great rockabilly dance where you can cut a rug late into the evening to the live sounds of the Ultra Kings. So if you’re a swing dancer or just like some good music, you may want to check it out. (I’ll be there, so don’t be afraid to ask me for a dance!)

Tickets for the dance have gone on sale and can be purchased here. You don’t have to dress up like the 1950s, but it doesn’t hurt.

Yesterday, the fine folks at BlobFest announced the companion features to this year’s screening of The Blob at the Colonial Theater and they are some real super doozies.

The first is the 1953 classic It Came From Outer Space. Based on a short story by grandmaster Ray Bradbury, the film focuses on an astronomer and his fiancee who witness a flying saucer crash, but when they try and report it, no one will believe them. Needless to say, once some mysterious things begin happening around town, people begin to rethink what they believe about what our heroes saw. The Colonial will also be screening the Vincent Price classic House Of Wax in its new second theater! And if that’s not enough Vincent Price for you, the second half of the Saturday evening double feature will be another spooky gem from the iconic horror actor – The House On Haunted Hill.

(Note – Although House Of Wax is arguably one of the most famous 3D films from the 1950s, its BlobFest presentation will be in 2D. It Came From Outer Space will be in 3D however.)

Rounding out the film schedule will be Sunday’s presentation of The Lost Skeleton Returns Again. If the title doesn’t sound familiar, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again is the 2009 sequel to 2001’s throwback The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

Is the long in development remake of the 1958 classic The Blob starting to get some traction? Samuel L Jackson seems to think so and in a recent interview has stated that the film he has been attached to for two years could finally be oozing forward.

Speaking to the Toronto Star (via Blastr), the actor discussed why he likes appearing in genre films such as Jurassic Park and, most recently, King Kong. And in his comments he revealed that financing for the remake had come together and that things could be moving forward.

I’ve been preparing to use it my whole life. I’ve been running from or chasing King Kong, Godzilla the Wolfman, whatever, since I was a kid (in Chatanooga, Tenn.). We’d go home and pretend to do all that stuff. So I’m doing Kong for the same reason I’ll probably be doing The Blob. I just got a call the other day (where the producers) said they finally got their money from China to do Blob. I mean, I do a lot of movies, a lot of independent movies, for different reasons. But I’m a fan, and a lot of times I choose a movie because it’s something I would have chosen to see when I was a kid. How do you say no to that?

Note that Jackson states “probably.” But as the business normally goes, Jackson may have been attached to the project for the last two years, but even if the financing issues are in order, the producers still have to actually sit down and hammer out a deal with Jackson. Until then, nothing is certain.

The Sun’s story concludes by saying that “Jackson’s next big project after The Blob will be Avengers: Infinity War.” While it doesn’t state where they get this timeline, I am going to guess that it is an error on the reporter’s part. Infinity War is already in production and will be shooting over the next several month’s. Even if the jump right into pre-production, there is no way that the Blob remake producers will be able to get the film in front of cameras before Jackson needs to be on set for Infinity War.

Jack Harris, the producer of the seminal 1950s monster movie The Blob, died earlier today at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 98.

Born in Philadelphia, Yeaworth got his start in show business at the age of six, as a child performer in Gus Edwards’ Kiddie Revue vaudeville show. As an adult he became active as a theatrical publicist.

Harris became interested in producing when he got into a argument with Rocketship X-M Robert L Lippert. Harris said that Lippert’s movies were “lousy” and hard to promote. Lippert responded that if Harris thinks he could do a better job than he should. While on tour promoting a Boy Scout-themed film Jamboree, Harris began cultivating the idea for what kind of movie he should make. He realized that both science-fiction and juvenile delinquency films were two genres that seemed to always turn a profit.

Teaming with Irvin “Shorty” Yeaworth, a director of short religious films based outside of Valley Forge who was looking to make a feature that could infuse some cash into his production company, Harris put the wheels in motion that would eventually result in 1958’s The Blob. The film was shot in the Philadelphia suburbs of Phoenixville, Downingtown and Royersford. Made for just $240,000, the film would go on to gross over $4 million.

Harris would reteam with Yeaworth a year for the science-fiction thriller The 4-D Man, which would again see them shooting in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Harris also exhibited an eye for upcoming talent, producing 1970’s Equinox, co-directed by future multiple Academy Award-winning special effects wizard Dennis Murren, Schlock, the 1973 directorial debut of John Landis, and Dark Star, the feature debuts of co-writers and co-directors John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon.

Harris would return to The Blob for a 1972 sequel, Beware! The Blob, directed by Larry Hagman, the 1989 remake and reportedly had been in active in the more recent attempt to get a second remake launched.

Mark your calendars! The fine folks at the Colonial Theatre have announced when tickets will go on sale for this year’s Blob Fest!!

If you are a theater member, you can purchase your tickets through the Colonial’s website on May 31, starting at 10am. If you are not a member, you’ll be able to get your tickets starting 24 hours later on June 1 at 10am.

As always, these tickets to go fast, so don’t forget to be ready to purchase them when the time comes!

And just a reminder that BlobFest this year is a little later, falling on July 14th through the 16th!

It may not be as fondly remembered as the film that spawned it, but Kino Lober is bringing Beware! The Blob! to DVD and blu-ray next month as part of their Studio Classics line. This marks the first time that the Larry Hagman-directed sequel will appear in the format and Kino Lorber has remastered the film for High Def.

Here’s the release from Kino Lorber –

The Blob returns… more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley), Carole Lynley (The Poseidon Adventure), Gerrit Graham (Used Cars) and Shelley Berman (You Don’t Mess With The Zohan) add to the fun. A geologist (Cambridge) unwittingly brings home an unusual frozen piece of debris from the North Pole. But when it accidentally thaws, the hungrier-than-ever Blob comes to life again, consuming nearly everyone in its path and terrorizing the town. No one is safe as it crawls into a bowling alley, oozes its way across an ice rink, becoming grotesquely bloated with the blood of its victims… can this bizarre creature ever be stopped? TV legend Larry Hagman directed this cult classic, the only feature film he ever directed – upon its 1980s re-release, the film was tagged “The Film that J.R. Shot!”.

Look for the disc going on sale on September 20 in stores and via Amazon.

The local CBS affiliate had this short preview of the weekend, as did the Philly Voice.

The Phoenixville Phoenix Reporter/Pottstown Mercury is always on hand for the weekend. Here is their coverage and a photo gallery from Friday night as well as a nice overview of the weekend.

The Daily Local News had a short report on Friday night’s Runout, which featured two photos. (Modesty prohibits us from pointing out that one of them features a certain blog author running for his life.)

BlobFest has announced the addition of an appearance by Lost In Space‘s very own Marta Kristen to the weekend’s festivities. Kristen, of course played older daughter Judy Robinson on the classic 1960s science-fiction series!

And that’s not the only Lost In Space alum who will be at the show! Prop builder Craig Reinbrecht will be bringing his own B9 Robot to the show for fans to see and take pictures with.

Both Kristen and the Robot will be upstairs on the theater’s third floor all day Saturday with Kristen participating in a Q&A before Sunday’s afternoon double feature.

In addition to her memorable role on Lost In Space, Kristen has appeared in a number of film and television projects including Beach Blanket Bingo, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Battle Beyond The Stars, Remington Steele and Murphy Brown.

What’s the thing to do after you’ve run out of the Colonial Theater on Friday night of Blob Fest? Dance the night away at the Blob Ball of course!

The annual tradition is back, with more rockabilly music, poddel skirts, slicked up hair and jitterbugging than you could ask for. And don’t worry if you don’t know how to dance – Anyone will be glad to show you how to cut a rug.

Details are all below. And I’ll be there, so don’t be afraid to ask me for a dance.

If you are a member of the Theater you can purchase them during the Member’s only pre-sale on May the 31st between 9am and 6pm with the general public getting their chance the following day. Need we say that these things go fast, so don’t delay!